The Waldo Canyon fire burns near Colorado Springs, as seen from Pikes Peak on Saturday afternoon. <a href="http://photos.denverpost.com/mediacenter/2012/06/photos-waldo-canyon-fire-near-garden-of-the-gods/38318/"><b>More photos.</b></a>

After dropping a load of water behind some homes in the Cedar Heights subdivision, a helicopter heads back to refill to fight the Waldo Canyon fire near Colorado Springs. <a href="http://photos.denverpost.com/mediacenter/2012/06/photos-waldo-canyon-fire-near-garden-of-the-gods/38318/"><b>More photos.</b></a>

A group of teens watch as the Waldo Canyon Fire burns outside of Colorado Springs on Sunday, June 24, 2012. AAron Ontiveroz, The Denver Post

A Manitou Springs police officer who declined to give his name keeps people away from the entrance to Manitou Springs on Colorado Ave. They arrived thinking they were allowed back but officials have said the evacuation orders will be lifted at 8:00 pm tonight June 24th, 2012. It was about 7:15 so many people pulled to the side of the road to wait for the reopening of the town.The Waldo Canyon fire continues to burn northwest of Manitou Springs, Colorado today June 24th, 2012. The fire which is threatening the Cedar Heights neighborhood, has already consume over 2,500 acres with 0% containment.Helen H. Richardson, The Denver Post

Evacuees head east on Highway 24 towards Manitou Springs as they race to get away from the fire.The Waldo Canyon fire continues to burn northwest of Manitou Springs, Colorado today June 24th, 2012. The fire which is threatening the Cedar Heights neighborhood has already consume over 2,500 acres with 0% containment.Helen H. Richardson, The Denver Post

After dropping a load of water behind some homes, a helicopter heads back to refill his bucket. Below is the Cedar Heights subdivision.The Waldo Canyon fire continues to burn northwest of Manitou Springs, Colorado today June 24th, 2012. The fire which is threatening the Cedar Heights neighborhood has already consume over 2,500 acres with 0% containment.Helen H. Richardson, The Denver Post

COLORADO SPRINGS - A C-130 transport plane heads back to reload after making a run at the Waldo Fire Monday, June 25, 2012. Steve Nehf, The Denver Post

COLORADO SPRINGS — The Waldo Canyon fire, which officials here called “very aggressive,” spread in three directions and displaced about 11,000 people from their homes as fires continued to burn statewide Sunday.

Nearly half that total — about 5,000 living in Manitou Springs — were allowed to return to their homes beginning at 8 p.m. Sunday. Mandatory evacuations remained in place for Cascade, Green Mountain Falls and Chipita Park.

Situated several miles west of Colorado Springs, the fire — which for many residents in this southern Colorado city became a spectacle — charred at least 2,500 acres and forced evacuations of about 4,000 homes in El Paso County.

“This is a day we’ve long dreaded would come,” Colorado Springs Mayor Steve Bach said at a news conference Sunday afternoon.

While officials reported no structural damage at the afternoon news conference, the fire remained at zero containment, with another acreage assessment slated for this morning.

Greg Heule, a public-information officer for the Waldo Canyon fire, said 450 firefighters from several agencies were working to contain it.

“The fire has been very, very active,” Heule said. “I anticipate quite a few more acres than what we currently have.”

A Type 1 incident command team, the highest classification for fire disasters, was requested by local fire officials and is expected to take over the operations at the fire as early as today.

Moreover, four specially equipped C-130 military transport planes — capable of dropping 3,000 gallons of fire retardant in less than five seconds — are slated to help with the fire.

Two of the aircraft will be provided by the 302nd Airlift Wing, Air Force Reserve, Peterson Air Force Base, and two by the 153rd Airlift Wing, Wyoming Air National Guard, Cheyenne.

Sulyn Wallace said she received a knock on her door at 2 a.m. from police telling her to evacuate.

“It’s just shocking. It’s really scary to see the smoke this close to home,” said Wallace, who has lived in Manitou for about 20 years and had never been evacuated.

Roy Byrne moved to Manitou Springs six months ago from Las Vegas.

“I’m not used to this fire stuff,” Byrne said. “I barely had any time to get my belongings and get out.”

Gov. John Hickenlooper met with fire officials and said more than half the nation’s fleet of firefighting resources is now in Colorado.

The fire began Saturday afternoon, and there was no information on what sparked it. In neighboring Teller County, arson is suspected as the cause of some wildfires.

When asked about the chance that arson may have been involved in the Waldo Canyon fire, Hickenlooper said: “It makes me crazy. I can’t even think straight.”

Officials with the Red Cross estimated that more than 200 people stayed at Cheyenne Mountain High School on Saturday night, with more expected to arrive Sunday.

Jeannie Jonack was evacuated from her Manitou home and sat next to a cot she had claimed in the school’s gymnasium.

“You never see fires this close to the city,” Jonack said. “I remember the smoke from the Hayman, which was nearby but not right on top of us like this one.”

At a morning briefing, Bach said, “We’re just really concerned about the speed at which this fire is spreading.”

“We’re hoping that with additional federalized resources in here we can make some progress on this the next couple of days,” Bach said.

Sunday night, an orange haze from the fire blanketed much of Colorado Springs.

Officials closed Cheyenne Canon Park, Palmer Park and Garden of the Gods as a precaution because of the high fire danger.

The Colorado Springs Fire Department reported flames from the Waldo Canyon fire as high as 100 feet Saturday night, moving a half-mile to a mile per hour.

The Penrose Equestrian Center was providing shelter for large animals evacuated from the fire area.

To the north in Douglas County, another small fire prompted some pre-evacuation notices Sunday.

The Trout Creek fire started after 2 p.m. about half a mile east of Highway 67 in Pike National Forest.

Fire officials sent out a pre-evacuation notice to 155 homes in West Creek and Trout Creek subdivisions.

The fire was estimated at about 25 acres Sunday afternoon, with full containment expected by nighttime.

There were 20 firefighters battling the fire, assisted by a helicopter and two single-engine air tankers.

A native of Colorado, Kurtis Lee was a politics reporter for The Denver Post from February 2011 until July 2014. He graduated cum laude from Temple University in 2009 with a degree in journalism and political science. He previously worked as an online writer in Washington, D.C., for the PBS NewsHour.

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